U.S. Pat. No. 5,811,933 discloses a high-pressure discharge lamp having a ceramic discharge vessel in which an ignition aid is used. The ignition aid is a so-called UV enhancer. A similar one is known from DE 20 2010 011 029. A foil electrode is described in this case.
It is furthermore known that the distance of the inner electrode of the UV enhancer from the inner wall has an essential influence on the ignition voltage of the UV enhancer. WO 2010/131574 presents exemplary embodiments of a geometry variation of the inner electrode. In this case, a further metallic component is fitted into the UV enhancer in addition to the molybdenum foil, this component promoting the charge transport of the dielectric barrier discharge. This, however, is cost-intensive.